Category: news

Barack Obama has accepted the Democratic Party’s historic nomination to run for president of the US in front of a crowd of some 75,000 people. more here

Interesting that this speech is on the 45th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech.

Surely it fulfills some prophesy or something??? Ok maybe not, but for something that was not really able to be planned (it could have been Clinton making the speech) it seems a cool coincidence…like Obama is black you know…and so was King…and …. oh you get it?

Ok, so I guess like every other website in the Christian and not so Christian world, I thought I too would make a comment on the big news – Mike Gugliemucci does not have terminal cancer, rather he has another kind of illness (my take) – a mental illness that seems to have resulted in him faking this cancer, deceiving probably hundreds of thousands (could it be more than a million??) people via his live ‘performances’ and testimonies and powerful song, ‘healer’. Hillsong have gone into bunker mode (again) and are battening down their hatches, making legal claims toward Youtube, media statements, and probably saying swear words quietly behind closed doors!Blogs are screaming for answers, newspapers (even The Australian), are loving the fodder for their juicy stories.But I wonder if the real problem is not Mike and his deceit but the very system he became a victim of. A church that loves to make heroes and stars out of ordinary people…in fact does this not sound like the very worldy system that we live in? Think Paris Hilton, think up and coming teen hero Miley Cyrus, think any kind of super star…or not so super star (Bindi Irwin?), ordinary people longing for attention, love and recognition, they show some flare, and pop culture instantly elevates them higher and higher until there is no way they could ever display their true selves, their broken nature, because if they did – we would crucify them! (And we do!)

Mike has been exposed as a fake.Oh how I wish some of my fakeness would get exposed sometimes, but the pain, the risk it might cause to me and others.But, then imagine the healing that may also come, imagine finally being able to walk down the street knowing that your ugliness is exposed and you have nothing to hide. The road to healing I would say is found in here.

So again, I suggest that we as a Church may just have missed the point.AA on the other hand may look more like a church I would like to attend.

At Church we say, “all is fine, I am healed and victorious!”In fact some may even invent sicknesses to be able to make that victorious claim. “Glory to God I can still preach and write songs and be your hero!”

But at an AA meeting people come in broken, “my name is Jack, I am sick, I am an alcoholic”. Jack is welcomed and embraced as a broken man, no chance of making him out a hero, he is just like one of us, but together as a egalitarian group of people, we can make a difference in one another’s lives.

So to Mike I say, congratulations my friend (I am not really a friend, although I have met Mike on a few occasions), finally your healing has begun, you have been set free from this lie and can now really begin to come to terms with your inner self, the pain and sickness that in one way, shape, or another – all of us carry.

To myself, I guess I take the challenge to not be afraid of the dark sides of me, but rather expose them. Also, I need to be wary as I like to be the hero, be in the limelight, let the Church make me out to be a hero or let people think more of me than I really am.

To the Church – stop sticking people up on those pedastools! Stop making Kings and Queens and CEO’s out of people who some call “Pastor”.

Who was it who said if you want to be great then you must be the servant of all?

Our journey into into Christ, as I understand it, is a downward one, not an upward one.Think Mother Theresa as a model?Think Billy Graeme as a pretty fair example of one who was ‘up front’ yet seemed to resist being made a hero.Who else? Or am I just making these anti-hero’s into heros?

Going Where?I have spent the last 2 weeks with Scripture Union. Camp one was with Mirrabooka High Yr 8 boys doing a selective boys to men type camp. 17 kids, lots of attitude and not all good. The last night we had to sleep out by ourselves in the bush under our own hoothchies, I was wet, very wet! The talks I did on Men as Lover, King, Monk and Warrior went well (Thanks to Mike’s suggestions on this site!)Last week’s camp was a bit less intense, Winthrop Baptist yr 11’s Kayaking on the Murray.

Watching What?Last night watched KungFu Panda – Great Laugh, even some Python style humour!Watched a 1999 flick called Pitch Black which was the first in the Chronicles of Riddick series, Vin Diesel – Good watch!

Playing With What?My bio diesel processor…we made a batch of 50L, then 80L went great, then a batch of 150L, not so great but managed a rescue and it looks great now. Then a couple of weeks ago did a 100L batch and managed soap. Yes soap is an unfortunate bi-product of stuffing up with this process. Glycerol is one of the waste products, it is also the base product for soap manufacturing, stuff up some small element in the bio process and wham – you have litres of liquid sticky glue which is actually heavy grade soap. My mate Lance has done most of the rescuing as I have been away. It looks like we may have saved a good deal of the oil!

Enjoying What?Loved a walk to the library and then take-a-way and movies with my family yesterday arvo.I am also enjoying the thought of 2 weeks leave over the July school hols. 3 days at Contoscamp group near Prevally/Yallingup. 2 days up at the farm, lots of days just pottering at home.

Working For Whom?I am still full time with Churches of Christ (3 days Youth Vision Ministry Coach and 2 Days OnEARTH/GMP). The SU (Scripture Union) stuff is really to keep a hand in with youth ministry experience as well as looking at options for next year.I will be working for SU 2 days a week next year in their Neighbourhood Outreach/Forge area as well as doing a camp a term for them in Warriuka. Hopefully I can continue doing the OnEARTH stuff as it is hotting up a little.

Looking Forward to What?Well 2 weeks leave, then 3 days in Sydney with Youth Vision, then starting up a 14 week study (OnEARTH/Ignition) which includes 2 weeks in Halls Creek with a crew from our Church as well as some others, I am also running a weekend leaders retreat in August which looks like fun.Finishing off our new raised garden beds out the back, fixing my dead roller door, tidying up my yard a bit and generally slowing down and reading some more.

So that is it. Been way too busy, but feel ok. Not pumped. Always dreaming too much of a quiet life in the country, working less not more. But I need to learn to be in the moment more, “be where you are”.

My old 480L fridge/freezer sits in my shed.It still works, it’s a Westinghouse, they work forever.It is about 10 or so years old, we bought a new one last year as we needed more space.It could also use a new seal around the door at some point in the future, I think it works hard keeping itself at the right temp. But keep its temp it does.It would make itself at home in a young family or a smaller grown family of 3 or 4.

Letters were sent Monday to the ministries demanding that financial statements and records be turned over to the committee by December 6th.

According to Grassley’s office, the Iowa Republican is trying to determine whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles.

The six ministries identified as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Three of the six – Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar – also sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University. (more)

Temenos (τέμενος) is a Greek word meaning “Sacred Space”.I desire our new community garden to be just that, a sacred space in which our lives intersect with each other and with God as we journey together.Not everyone in our little group in the northern suburbs will be keen gardeners, but my prayer is that we all might discover a safe, even sacred space in this dedicated block of land in Joondalup. Maybe a place of prayer, work, worship, mate-ship, a place of service and community – who knows!

Presently it is a pile a weeds, black sand and rubble.Presently we are a confused group of dreamers not too sure if this dream will become anything like we have dreamed about, but willing to give it a go and willing to make the construction stage just as important as the ongoing seasonal stages of sowing and reaping.

We have decided to create a separate blog mainly for people connected to the garden in some way shape or another.So if the community garden thing presses you buttons have a look.

Some time ago I blogged about my obsessions to ‘get new stuff’. In fact I often rant about all that. But remember I was all ape about my new Apple Mac? (and here. )Waiting every day for it to arrive and in the middle of it all my new hiking shoes arrived from the states?

Well…The shoes were too tight…And the Mac has spent more time in the repair shop than on my lap!

Here is the email I sent to Steve Jobs…yes, I found his email address 🙂

Dear Mr JobsI bought a sweet new Macbook 2 months ago I am a great lover of all things Mac!!

It remains to this day in the repair shop, and I remain frustrated!

The story – From day one it was having difficulty connecting to my wireless network, thinking it was my modem I bought a new Netgear wireless modem.No changeCalled Apple help line twice and we spent an hour on the phone. At one stage we reset all the settings in the DHCP area only to watch them disappear before my eyes!

Generally speaking this is the go – After ‘sleep’ and ‘restart’ I am sometimes asked “Your normal network is not available, do you wish to connect to ‘sc*****r‘” (which happens to be my normal network)Sometimes there are no networks available in the drop down list, and sometimes all but mine are available.

Sometimes I would be in the middle of a session on the net and it would get slower and slower and disconnect.

AIRPORT CARD GETS REPLACED AS IDENTIFIED ISSUE BY APPLE PERTH

The first time I open my MB after the repair the error msg appears.I narrow this issue down to one consistency;From startup or restart – no network connecting…then if I put it to sleep and wake it up it connects straight away to my network – every time.

MACHINE BACK TO APPLE SHOP

Whilst in repair shop I illustrate by doing a restart, but it freezes on restart as though I put it to sleep and can only be started with a hard reset by the assistant. (happened in battery and power mode)“You sure have some real issues with this computer” said the assistant. I left it with him again!

10 DAYS LATER

I am rung and told it is finally fixed, it was a third party software issue, so they said.

The moment I turned it on at home the same error msg appeared, no problem I figure as it is adjusting to being moved from the Apple wireless to my house. I do a restart and the machine jams in sleep mode refusing to start backup without a hard reset.Finally it starts and connects.I try shutdowns, restarts and sleeps and everything works, again and again and again for 2 hours.

THE I LEFT IT FOR 30 MINUTES SLEEPING

Upon reopening the screen I discovered not only a wireless error but the icon up the top for my wireless had gone altogether!!No wireless.

I packed it all up into it’s box and took it back in. I demanded a new computer, I just want to do some work!! This has been a VERY unproductive month or more.But I am told that only one bit of hardware has been replaced (Airport card) and I have to have faults on 4 bits of hardware and have them all replaced before I see a new machine…by that time I have hardly got the machine I paid for 2 months ago! I have a bits and pieces machine.

This is not good enough!

Please someone out there get me a new MacBook!!!!! This is a LEMON!

Scott

Within 12 hours I get a call from Australia Mac head office saying that they had recieved a directive from their international office that I had tried to contact the boss and that Sydney needed to follow me up with VIP care – NOT a new laptop though.

Today they are replacing another piece of hardware as it seems that the 3rd party software theory was not the issue.

In fact the problem was occurring before I loaded any extras onto it.But I now have someone’s attention in head office so who knows if that will make any difference!

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No Guarantees

"No Guarantees" is about my life...and I guess yours in some ways, about spirituality, relationships and being. There are not too many things that are 100% guaranteed in this life. This blog is one of them!

About Me

I sometimes make things in my shed from wood, I drink coffee with people for a living, I read, I walk, I paddle, I spend time discovering stuff about a person called Jesus and I live with and love Mikaela, Andy and Sophie my three kids and Christine my amazing wife...and Max my Border Collie...and some chooks...and a rabbit called chook.